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Eruption of Grímsvötn Volcano, Iceland

This page contains archived content and is no longer being updated. At the time of publication, it represented the best available science. However, more recent observations and studies may have rendered some content obsolete.

After covering a large portion of Iceland with ash in late May 2011, Grímsvötn Volcano left behind a small lake filled with melt water and a hole in the Vatnajökull Glacier. This natural-color satellite image was acquired by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) on June 11, 2011. The lake covers much of the site of the eruption, with the possible exception of the crescent-shaped feature along the southern shore of the lake. This may be a tephra cone left behind by the eruption. Gray ash covers the ice of Vatnajökull Glacier near the vent. Further away, the ash layer itself is obscured by snow.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data. Caption by Robert Simmon.

After covering a large portion of Iceland with ash in late May 2011, Grímsvötn Volcano left behind a small lake filled with meltwater and a hole in the Vatnajökull Glacier.